IT’S GETTING HARDER TO KNOW WHAT’S REAL

Medical research is a difficult undertaking. Exploring new ideas and proving new concepts takes genius and diligence.

Reading the story of James Allison, the latest winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine, you hear of all the dead ends and crazy ideas he pursued, until he finally lighted upon the novel method of proving that you could turn the immune system on, and fight cancer with the body’s own defenses. His story is a master class in perseverance and tenacity.

Contrast that with Brian Wansink, a Cornell nutrition researcher whose entire list of research has been withdrawn from journals due to his duplicity and mendacity in reporting false results. His misleading results have wasted time and money, all in the pursuit of his own ego and money.

In this world, it can be difficult to separate these two types. History if filled with deceptions and greatness…..on the same page.

It is my job, as a Hopkin’s trained medical scientist, to help my patients decipher what is a great advance and what is a bunch of hooey. I’m at it 24/7/365…..so….rest easy!